


Library of Legends

by Gilli_ann



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Books, Canon Universe, M/M, Pining, Post-Canon, Triple Drabble
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-12
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:01:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 300
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28033566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gilli_ann/pseuds/Gilli_ann
Summary: During the long wait for Arthur's return, Merlin collects and preserves Arthurian lore.
Relationships: Merlin/Arthur Pendragon (Merlin)
Kudos: 25





	Library of Legends

**Author's Note:**

> This ficlet was originally posted in the Camelot Drabble community for the prompt 'Library'.
> 
> Disclaimer: The Merlin characters belong to the BBC and Shine TV. I make no profit and intend no copyright infringement.

  
Merlin started the collection about a century after he'd seen Arthur off to his sleep in Avalon. Their true history had already been garbled or even forgotten by then, and legends were emerging and multiplying in history's stead. Merlin was the only one who knew what had really happened. 

There'd always been a kernel of truth at the new stories' core, but the tales about Arthur and his knights, Queen Guinevere, the sorceress Morgana, and Merlin himself were becoming ever more fantastic and imaginative with every passing decade. In some stories, they were fighting Saxons. In others, Arthur became emperor of Rome. Here, Merlin single-handedly built Stonehenge, and there, Mordred was Arthur's secret son. In later retellings, they all lived in a fairytale land where magical quests and damsels in distress were the order of the day. 

Reality in medieval times was bleak, - wars, plague, and famine. No wonder that myths about a brighter, better past took hold so strongly. 

The legends were chronicled and partly reimagined by monks, scholars, and even imprisoned knights, who left parchments and heavy tomes behind. 

Merlin has collected them all. He's bought them when he could, and magicked them away for safekeeping when he couldn't. He's kept the manuscripts and ancient books safe, - his magic protecting them from dampness, decay, and vermin. 

By now, he maintains an impressingly large library of Arthurian lore and legends. One day, he thinks, he will show this collection to his beloved Arthur. They'll marvel at how much they've inspired human imagination through the ages, and that they continue to do so.

With love and longing, Merlin maintains all the tales of the king that once was. But he lives for the day when he and his returned Arthur of the future can begin creating completely new stories - together.


End file.
